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Survey Reveals Courts Fail to Offer Basic Information on Probate

April 7th, 2006

Probate -- the process of proving that a will is valid and of settling an estate -- is among the most common legal procedures in the United States. Yet the overwhelming majority of state courts fail to offer consumers basic online information and resources about probate, according to a survey conducted by HALT, a nonpartisan legal reform organization.

In HALT's evaluation of state probate Web resources, 29 states received a grade of "F" because they offer no or minimal information about settling an estate, leaving consumers with little choice but to hire an attorney.

"Consumers handle many legal tasks online -- from filing taxes, to writing wills, to conducting business transactions," said HALT Program Director Theresa Meehan Rudy. "They should also be able to handle routine probate matters online, but far too many courts fail to post the information they need."

HALT's survey shows that only a handful of states support consumers who want to tackle probate with excellent probate guides and fill-in-the-blank forms online.

New Hampshire scored highest in the survey with a solid "A" because its state court Web site offers detailed information about the probate process, links to local probate courts, provides timelines and checklists for executors and is the only state to provide step-by-step instructions for completing their forms online.

Tying for second place with an "A-" were Connecticut, Vermont, and Washington, D.C. While none provides the step-by-step instruction for filling in their forms that New Hampshire provides, all offer very good information. Washington, for example, features two excellent guides, When Someone Dies and Small Estate Proceedings with step-by-step instructions for administering and settling an estate, links to necessary forms, a glossary of legal terms, and a list of helpful contacts and resources.

For more on the "National Probate Web Site Survey" and to see how your state fared, click here.

Ron M. Landsman, P.A.

Ron M. Landsman has been practicing elder law since 1983, before it was known as elder law, originally with Landsman and Laster, Washington, D.C., then Landsman, Eakes and Laster, also in Arlington, VA, and since 1990 in his own practice in Montgomery County, Maryland. He has been among the most active members of the...

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Needham Mitnick & Pollack, PLC

Susan Pollack served as Chairperson of the Falls Church Senior Citizens Commission from 1997 to 2011 and was on the Executive Board of the Falls Church Education Foundation. She has also served on the Board of Directors of the Alzheimer’s Association of the National Capital Area and is a member of the Arlington B...

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Hale Ball Carlson Baumgartner Murphy PLC

Attorney Samantha Simmons Fredieu is an associate at Hale Ball. Ms. Fredieu graduated magna cum laude from Vermont Law School where she was the symposium editor on the Vermont Law Review, a production editor on the Vermont Journal of Environmental Law, and a member of the Moot Court Advisory Board. She has clerked for...

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